There are coffee bags under the linen’s drawer. Spoons and forks are inside somebody’s locker. And there are other little secrets that only night nurses know aside from where to get supplies that are sourced from morning’s haul. If you’re a graveyard nurse, this can be a good laugh for you. If you work day shift and have a sensitive funny bone, umm, you can read other articles. Lol. Or you can just find humor in this post and think twice the next time you receive report from a member of the zombie family.

Almost every confused patient gets more confused or agitated right after the sun goes down. It may be Sundowner’s or it’s just full moon. Up until now, discussions on whether moon appearance has effect on human behaviors are still not over. Luna isn’t the Latin word for moon for nothing right? I mean, are we going to just tolerate our lunatic coworkers when they’re on their “mood swings?” But seriously, most of the crazy things happen during the night. When your confused patient tells you there’s a child in the room at 12mn, are you going to shrug it off or run for your life, bathe in your sweat then pee in your pants? Oh gee, don’t even get me started on this story. HAHA!

That coffee maker at the corner is our best friend. We can stay up without enough sleep but not without coffee. And when it malfunctions, it will be a disaster. Sorry admins, no coffee, no admission! Business is closed!

Quiet environment results in intimate patient care. Not intimate as in intimate, but let’s just say patient care that’s special. At night, there are less people roaming around. No cafeteria people each meal. No administrators hovering. No relatives disrupting your patient’s thought process. It’s just you and your patient, and it makes care management a breeze.

Graveyard nurses take longer breaks. We don’t do breakfast break you guys. So it’s just fair for us to take longer than usual breaks. Or do I sound defensive? Thirty minutes is a *snap-snap* anyway. Give this to us. We are always so hungry, and we don’t know why.

We hate calling doctors in the middle of the night just as they hate night nurses for waking them up.

We classify doctors according to their response: “AmiozZzzjksbjkbs one time dose jbkszdfisbf” and “DON’T CALL ME! NO ORDER!”

That night differential we get is for giving up enough sleep.

Because sleeping during the day is more difficult than you think.

Believe it or not, the kind of stress a night nurse endures is a lot heavier than day nurses’. We can admit and discharge at the same time and have loads of patients all at once and not feel a thing, BUT fighting your body’s natural circadian rhythm is a fight of a lifetime. LOL You know you just can’t win.

The bond that a night nurse has with other member of the zombie family is incomparable. You rely on each other for support, in code blues and in browns! And while there are other shift nurses, you can’t deny the cool groove of the graveyard crew!

When I was a little kid, I imagined my 25 year-old self with long, straight hair, makeup caked on my face, and sporting a denim. Don't judge, I think it's because of my tita(s) (aka aunts) or other ladies in the apartment where I grew up. I also assumed I'd stay in the Philippines and be a lawyer or broadcaster or teacher. I had all these dreams wrapped inside a magical box called "childhood."

I'm 25 now, and none among these things happened. My hair is short and curly. I use makeup, and it's not cakin'. I don't wear denims. I live in the USA, and I am a full-time nurse and part-time blogger entrepreneur. I have all these realities, and I can't even imagine myself not living the life I have right now. Contemplating on how my life turned out, I couldn't be more thankful.

As you reach this age, you begin to understand what "quarter-life crisis" means. We've all had those frustrating moments, but let me tell you these 25 things you needed to hear to convince you that your 25th year is the most badass year yet!

You no longer care about what other people think of your fashion statement, how you dress up, and why you wear torn denim jeans. Whether you follow the latest trend of wearing chokers and off shoulders, or sport a professional look with nude blouses and pencil skirts, you don't care about others' POV at all. And if you wear scarfs or boots or coats on a hot day? Gee, that's for your #OOTD and #WIW

You learn how to love your body type. This goes to skinny and not-so-skinny people out there. Movements against body-shaming are getting noticed and it's a good time to celebrate these differences especially when your body type doesn't look like those model figures on TV and magazines. Yes, you may sometimes feel ugly browsing Kylie's feed but you give yourself a break and not *actually feel ugly*

Or you're only insecure for about 5 minutes. It doesn't count. Your self love is way greater than what you had 5 years ago. Maturity comes with age, and apparently, so does confidence.

Relationship status isn't a biggie anymore. You don't feel the pressure to have someone just because. No proms to attend to. No social gathering every now and then. No pressure from friends, because hey, most of you are on the same page! Let's not talk about our parents' constant questions, but really, it's a fresh air not to be bombarded by those annoying love-related Qs.

#WorkGoals and #CareerGoals are your favorite hashtags. Because we're workaholic like that. Thanks to Instagram for making coffee and tea as the new normal, because we're so over soda and beers. With a lot of work comes lotsa cups of coffee.

Money. While you're still struggling with your finances, most of it are just because you enjoy traveling every now and then, or you can't get enough of eating somewhere instagrammable and fancy. But really, you're not really struggling, are you?

Bullies don't control you anymore. You're done feeling sorry for yourself. You now have the guts to tell them straight to their face what you don't like about them, or if their actions are way too irrational.

You already acquired the superpower of telling who's fake and who's real in your life. When you know, you just know.

Your relationship with your parents is everything in your life right now. They treat you like adult, but they still pamper you with support and trust. How amazing, right?

You are BFF with your siblings. After years of fighting and yelling at each other, they suddenly became your partners in crime. Everything seems so real, and even though you still annoy each other, you can't deny the sibling love that grows every day.

No friends quarrel, because guess what, your number of friends were down to half! This isn't a bad thing at all, this only means that you grew as a person and in growing, you lose people along the way.

Dating. You know what you want, and you don't settle for less.

Having dreams, and knowing that you'll get there. Maybe not soon, but right now, you work hard to glue your end points together. Convincing yourself isn't that hard anymore. Or maybe it still is, but recognizing that you have years ahead of you to figure it out consoles you in a way.

You're not as lazy as when you were studying. You get things done, and nobody's stopping you.

You look up to someone worthy of your attention. Popular artists are MEH, and bosses who inspire you are the BOMB.

You know the importance of sleep. And everything is alright in the world when you get eight hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Mastering to-do list is your expertise. You developed a skill of juggling your child duties, paying bills, doing groceries, and work. If you have other stuff going on, you just know you have time for it.

Whether you binge-watch or stay home on weekends, you don't feel guilty doing so. And when somebody asks how your day off went, you smile and say you had the best weekend! You don't feel like you're missing out on something.

Hangovers aren't your thing anymore.

Your faith just gets stronger. It doesn't matter whether it's faith in God or faith in yourself, the thing is, you believe in the greater version of everything. Your optimism may sometimes wither but once you envision how you want your life to unfold, it reassures you.

What you think of as complicated doesn't sound complicated at all aka your taxes, insurance, investments, savings, and all those adult stuff that you're now dealing with. Remember your old self feeling puzzled over these things? And OMG, some of your friends are even your financial advisers already!

You're a nicer version of yourself. Gone are the days when you have zero tolerance on people who bring out the beast in you. You just unfollow or block them from your feed, and you're done.

Savings is your best friend.

You know how to cook a meal or two. And I'm not talking about frying eggs or boiling noodles.

Finally, the satisfaction and comfort you feel knowing you share your frustrations with your age group. You're not afraid of opening up, and letting your problems out because you are not alone in this fight, and life gets better anyway.

Quarter life isn't that bad at all. Or do you want to wait for your 30th year to feel it? 😂

Meet the curator

Hi! I'm Gelli, a cardiac travel nurse who loves to create stories and connect constellations in her head. Join me and my kitty, Pumpkin, as we blog about our adventures and misadventures, and irregular quest for all things wonderful.

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Hi! I'm Gelli, a cardiac travel nurse who loves to create stories and connect constellations in her head. Join me and my kitty, Pumpkin, as we blog about our adventures and misadventures, and irregular quest for all things wonderful.